Minister for Adi Dravidar Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu, Kayalvizhi Selvaraj, stated that four new hostel buildings will be constructed at a cost of Rs 25 crore for SC/ST (Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes) students in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. In addition, a common kitchen scheme will be implemented at a cost of Rs 3.75 crore to provide quality food to 23 such hostels existing in the city.

The minister was speaking in the State Assembly on Tuesday, April 18, in response to a debate on the demand for grants. She mentioned that a total of 36 Government Orders (GOs) have been issued in compliance with 38 announcements made last year, as per a report by The New Indian Express.

A sum of Rs 50,000 will be given to carry out maintenance work and meet unexpected expenses to each SC/ST student hostel, for which, a total amount of Rs 7.5 crore has been allocated. Internship assistance will be provided to 500 SC/ST students studying final year in government law colleges, Selvaraj announced.

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Coming up next, help centres
A help centre will also be established to assist SC and ST communities to seek legal help. A scheme will be implemented at the cost of Rs 10 crore to provide smart classrooms and study rooms in government college hostels. An ethnography study is proposed to be conducted at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore to ensure that the benefits of government schemes reach tribal people. A project monitoring wing will be established for this purpose.

Additionally, long-range wireless internet connectivity will be established at a cost of Rs 10 crore to ensure that communication facilities, telemedicine and e-services reach remote tribal areas. Fifty villages, where more than 500 tribals live, will be selected and converted into model villages under a special area development programme and state-balanced growth fund, the minister said, as per TNIE.